The rebirth or the born again experience involved the whole process of regeneration initiated by God and not by man. Whatever action a man takes, is the result of the conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit. In other words, regeneration is an act that only God can perform. We are no more able to regenerate ourselves than a blind man is able to see by a sheer act of the will. A blind man can decide to see, but he cannot see unless his eyes are healed.
What is "regeneration"?
Regeneration does not take place in stages. It is instantaneous. It is accomplished by one touch of the Holy Spirit upon our human spirit. It is a sovereign work, a thoroughly effective work accomplished by the immediate power of the omnipotence of God. Only God can bring something out of nothing and life out of death. Only God can quicken the dead human spirit.
The Nelson's Bible dictionary defines "Regeneration" as:
"The spiritual change brought about in a person's life by an act of God. In regeneration a person's sinful nature is changed, and he is enabled to respond to God in faith. The need for regeneration grows out of humanity's sinfulness. It is brought about through God's initiative. God works in the human heart, and the person responds to God through faith. Thus, regeneration is an act of God through the Holy Spirit, resulting in resurrection from sin to a new life in Jesus Christ (Please see 2 Corinthians 5:17)."
By studying the Book of John and the Book of Acts carefully, you will understand that there are four stages of initiation as a result of divine activity of regeneration. These stages of the rebirth are initiated by God and not by man's effort. Taking these four stages of initiation as a whole we have the new-birth or the born again experience. As a result of this, the person becomes a Christian.
In my opinion the term "Born again Christian" should not be used because it is a misnomer or redundancy. The fact is that if one is born agin, then he is a Christian. If he is a Christian then he is born again. There is no such thing as a "non-born again Christian" and no such thing as a "born again non-Christian" - it sounds ridiculous!
The four stages of the new birth
In the Book of Acts after Peter preached his first sermon to the men of Judea and all who dwelled in Jerusalem, they were "cut to the heart" - They were sorrowful.
"Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Chrsit for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy spirit'" (Acts 2:37, 38, NKJV, emphasis added).
The above passage of Scripture contains the four stages of the new birth.
1. Repent - God Himself grants repentance, it is a gift of God. Even though repentance is an act of will, a person can only have the desire to repent if God grants him repentance first.
"Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31, NKJV, emphasis added).
The writer of Hebrews said, "For you know that afterward, when he (Esau) wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears" (Heb. 12:17, emphasis added).
2. Believe - God bestows the gift of faith to a person to believe.
Paul said, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of work, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9, emphasis added).
Similarly, it is true that to believe is also an act of will, but a person can only believe if God grants him the gift of faith first.
3. Be baptized (Water baptism) - In the act of water baptism, the believer identifies himself with Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection.
Paul said, "... buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead" (Col. 2:12).
4. Receive the Holy Spirit (Baptism of the Holy Spirit) - God poured out His spirit upon us.
Paul said, "... not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:5, 6).
The fourth and final stage of the new birth is the process of regeneration, marking the end of the new birth and the beginning of the new life for the Christian. These four stages are called initiation stages of the new birth because at this point the Spirit-filled Christain starts his life of sanctification through the power of the Holy Spirit in him until the Lord returns for His Bride (Eph. 5:26, 27).
Being born again according to the Words of Jesus Christ
Many Christians claimed to have been born again but most of them failed to understand fully what Jesus said about being born again.
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, came to Jesus, by night. The following is John's record of their conversation (John 3:3 - 8):
Verse 3 - "Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus), 'Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born agin, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'
Verse 4 - "Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?'
Verse 5 - "Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Verse 6 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Verse 7 - "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
Verse 8 - "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everone who is born of the Spirit'" (NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Greek words translated "born again" mean "born from above". Nicodemus could not understand it or he would not ask Jesus the question in Verse 4.
2. According to Jesus, "born again" or "born from above" means "born of water and of the Spirit".
I believe many believers fail to understand how "water" has anything to do with being born again. Even John Wesley did not wish to explain what is meant by "born of water and the Spirit" in his sermon "Marks of the New Birth" (From Forty-four Sermons, Sermon XXXIX). This was what he said:
"We know these privileges are ordinarily related to baptism, which is termed by Jesus in the preceding verse: being born of water and of the Spirit. Now we want to know what these privileges are. Perhaps it is not necessary to give a definition of this because the Scripture gives none".
3. Verse 5 is an expansion of Verse 3. In Verse 3 Jesus stated that one must be born again. In Verse 5 He explained how to be born again. In other words, both Verse 3 and Verse 5 described the born again experience only. Jesus was not talking about the first physical birth. We need to add the word "again" to clarify what Jesus said. This is my paraphrase:
"Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born (again) of water and (born again of ) the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God'".
Jesus essentially said that, a person needs the rebirth using water and the Spirit in order to see and enter the Kingdom of God.
Here are two common misinterpretations:
(1) Some Bible teachers make the error in interpretation by assuming that "water and the Spirit" means, "The Word of God and the Holy Spirit". They say water refers to the Word of God. In ohter words, according to them, a person who is born again is born of the Word and born of the Holy Spirit. The fact is that "water" does not speak of the "Word of God" in Scripture. But, the "cleansing effect of water" does speak of the "Word of God" in the process of sanctification!
Paul said, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ..." (Eph. 5:25, 26, emphasis added).
Now, if the Word has anything to do with the born again experience, then the Word must be heard or read first. And we know that a person who is not regenerated can never understand the Word of God. The Word of God was written by the Holy Spirit and it needs the Holy Spirit to reveal the things of God to us (2 Tim. 3:16).
(2) Some other Bible teachers also make the error in interpretation by assuming that "born of water and the Spirit" means "born of water and born of the Spirit". This phrase then has two parts. The first part - "born of water", then indicates the physical birth. To these Bible teachers "water" is considered a synonym of "water in the womb". The second part - "born of the Spirit", means the rebirth. But the fact is that "born of water and the Spirit" is one single spiritual event (the rebirth) and has nothing to do with the earlier physical birth! Hence, we must rule out this interpretation.
4. Verse 6 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, .." means, "The physical birth". And "... that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" means the "rebirth" or "second birth". Notice that the rebirth makes a person spiritually alive instead of spiritually dead.
5. Verse 8 - When a person is born again by the Spirit of God, there is no change in him physically and no one can see what is happening to him physically. It is like the wind; one can hear the sound but one cannot tell where the wind comes from and where it goes. The rebirth is not the result of man's power nor man's wisdom. It remains the mystery and the sovereign work of God. But one thing we know - the rebirth is a spiritual and not a physical rebirth. The redemption or salvation of our physical body happens when Jesus comes again:
The writer of Hebrews said, "So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" (Heb. 9:28, NKJV).
True Biblical Born again Experience
Based on the expalantion above I think it is reasonable to believe that Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he needs the second birth or the born again experience. The second birth is the spiritual birth with both the physical and spiritual aspects. "Water" refers to the physical act of "water baptism". But, this of itself and by itself cannot bring about the new birth if it is not accompanied by the divine activity (a spiritual act) of the Holy Spirit in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In other words, a believer without the both aspects of the born again experience will neither see nor enter the Kingdom of God. He will not be saved with only one aspect of the experience - either only Baptism of the Holy Spirit or only water baptism (please read my earlier message, "One Baptism")
I fail to understand why most Christians, even leaders in the evangelical, pentecostal or charismatic circles, either think Baptism of the Holy Spirit is unnecessary or it is a second experience for those who need power to share the Gospetl to the unbelieving world. Not only this is a blatant deception, but also ignorant of the teaching of Jesus Christ!
Study the Book of Acts and the Epistles carefully you will notice that every one who believed and repented had been baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit. When Pentecost had come every one was baptized in the Holy Spirit and on the same day baptized in water. It does not matter which comes first - baptism in water or baptism in the Holy Spirit. Notice that no one ever comes to the Church to get baptized. Why? The answer is simple. The Church is for born again believers and unless they are both baptized in water and the Holy Spirit they are not born again yet! People who cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God cannot enter the door of the church! Can you see how men made a mess of everything?
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